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A large Miami Heat contingent could be represented at NBA All-Star Weekend

The Miami Heat are in position to have many as six participants during NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago in February
Shandel Richardson|
A large Miami Heat contingent could be represented at NBA All-Star Weekend
A large Miami Heat contingent could be represented at NBA All-Star Weekend

The Miami Heat are potentially on pace to accomplish something that hasn’t happened within the organization since the Big Three era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

With their recent success, the Heat could have many as six representatives during NBA All-Star Weekend in February in Chicago. Guard Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are strong candidates to earn spots on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Butler could be voted as a starter while Adebayo is most likely a reserve. Rookies Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn are expected to land in the Rising Stars Challenge because of their strong starts. Duncan Robinson and Derrick Jones Jr. will also receive consideration for the 3-point and slam dunk contest.

The Heat last had six participants in 2012, the same year they went on to capture the second NBA championship in franchise history with a victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals. That season they were represented by James, Wade and Bosh in the All-Star Game and Mario Chalmers and James Jones in the 3-point contest and Norris Cole (Rising Stars).

Butler and Adebayo have been the centerpieces in helping the Heat to a 22-8 start, good for third place in the conference. Butler, in his first year after being traded from Philadelphia in the offseason, is averaging a team-high 20.4 points, 6.6 assists and 6.5 rebounds.

A third-year center, Adebayo has lived up to expectations in an expanded role since replacing Hassan Whiteside in the starting lineup. He is averaging 15.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists. If the Heat continue their solid play, they are likely locks because teams in the upper half of the standings have typically been awarded two All-Stars.

Nunn and Herro have been among the league’s top rookies all season, so their selections are all but formalities. Nunn’s 16.2 points a game are second to No. 2 pick Ja Morant of Memphis for a first-year player. Herro (14.2 points) is also among the rookie leaders.

Robinson is seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (44.8) and 10th in makes (95), putting him in position. Jones, who is arguably one of the league’s top dunkers, made himself worthy of a spot in the field after a slam over Utah Jazz center and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert last week. 

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here

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